Busy organising the Poverty Bay Horticultural Society centenary at the end of September are the centenary subcommittee (from left) Wendy Davies, Barbara Searle, Katrine Matthews, Evelyn Watson and Pat Flockhart.
Busy organising the Poverty Bay Horticultural Society centenary at the end of September are the centenary subcommittee (from left) Wendy Davies, Barbara Searle, Katrine Matthews, Evelyn Watson and Pat Flockhart.
An advertisement in the Poverty Bay Herald in July 1880 called for anyone interested in establishing a horticultural and floricultural society in Gisborne to attend a meeting in the Masonic Hall.
Forty-four years and many flower shows later, the society became a registered incorporated society in August 1924.
It will celebrate its centenary on September 28 with a high tea at the Bushmere Arms. Jo McCarroll, editor of NZ Gardener magazine, is the guest speaker.
The foundations of the society were laid at that first meeting in 1880. The attendance was “not so large as could have been wished”, the Poverty Bay Herald reported. “But there were a number of persons in the hall who are well known as enthusiastic amateurs, either as horticulturists or growers of pot and garden flowers”.
Town clerk Mr B Sherriff moved that the Gisborne Horticultural and Floricultural Society be started. The gathering approved the motion unanimously and then voted that “the following gentlemen” be appointed as a provisional committee – Messrs Bull, Sherriff, Nash, Hill, Adams, G Stevenson, Taylor, Good, Bently, W Adair and J Hume.
The following year the newspaper carried news of the spring show run by the Poverty Bay Horticultural and Floricultural Society on December 7 at Macfarlane’s Hall. Prizes were offered for entries in four classes: pot plants in bloom, cut flowers, fruit grown by exhibitors and vegetables.
In 1899 the society changed its name to Poverty Bay Horticultural Society and held an “inaugural” summer show that December at the Theatre Royal, with more than 400 entries received for the several classes.
“Competition promises to be very keen,” reported the newspaper.
A decorated bicycle competition was included among the more recognisable categories such as buttonhole, bouquet, spray of flowers and table decorations.
“An idea of the arduous nature of the judge’s duties will be seen from the fact that there are no less than 13 entries for tomato sauce”, among the jams, preserves, pickles and sauces. The “great display of fruit” would be judged by the Rev H Williams and Mr G Grant. “Both gentlemen are connoisseurs in this line.”
The City Band played, along with a “number of our leading musicians”.
“Mr Chrisp will play a cornet solo, The Death of Nelson, and Mr J Ormond will contribute a mandolin solo. Songs will be contributed by Messrs East, Ferris and others.”
The paper reported that Captain Evans, of the ship Taranaki, had placed its flags and bunting at the disposal of the committee “and this will serve to give the interior of the hall a bright and attractive appearance”.
The show started at 2.30pm and later records indicate that they continued into the evening, finishing at 10pm.
Over the years, many familiar Gisborne names pop up in the society’s own records and newspaper reports of its activities in both the executive and committee, and as competitors in the group’s flower shows. At the 1901 summer show, set to “eclipse its predecessors”, the judges were Messrs W Gault, Dalrymple, File, Bushnell, Sherratt, B Cox and Wallace.
The society has had its challenges. In 1928, just four years after becoming an incorporated society, a lack of interest, exhibitors and financial losses led to the decision to wind up its activities and the district public trustee was notified.
But just two years later, a new committee was elected and the society was on its way again.
In 1932 a beautifying committee was formed to advise the local authorities about planting trees in the city. Over the years the society contributed – volunteers and plants – to planting at Grays Bush and Eastwoodhill Arboretum. It helped establish the Rose Gardens and with landscaping at Dunblane. It advised the city council on plantings for the median strip in Gladstone Rd and, in the early 1970s, offered its advice about plantings in Ormond Rd and pruning in Clifford St.
A less successful operation was the purchase in 1969 of 43 jacaranda trees for Titirangi-Kaiti Hill. They were all eaten by stock. In 1973 the society initiated a project to sow agapanthus seed on Titirangi to protect against erosion. In 1982, when Worsley Park was renamed Heath Johnson Park, the society provided and planted kōwhai trees for the reserve.
A cornerstone of the society’s activities has been its shows. In 1949 these included one-day shows for daffodils (September), roses (November), carnations (December), gladioli and, in April, chrysanthemums. More recently, declining interest has led to the gladioli and chrysanthemum shows being mothballed, along with dahlias. The rose and iris, and daffodil and camellia shows remain popular staples.
Finding a venue for its exhibitions taxed the society for many years. A flat floor space big enough to display all the competition entries and accommodate crowds of visitors on the day was a must. It also needed somewhere to store the exhibition “props”, including cloths for the tables and vases. Moving from venue to venue – the Army Hall to the Archery Club and places in between – was becoming more and more impractical.
A building fund was established in 1963. Accountant Bob Briant advised that a trust be established to, among other services, manage the building fund, and so the Gisborne Floral Festival Trust was set up. Others instrumental at this time were Florence Redstone, Lillian Phelps and Lenore Barron. All, including Briant, were made life members of the horticultural society.
Anne Pole, then secretary of the Poverty Bay Horticultural Society, setting up the daffodils display in the 2012 spring show.
At last, at the beginning of the new millennium, the Poverty Bay A&P Association Showgrounds and Events Centre was opened.
Among items stored there for the society’s shows is a stack of black cotton cloths used to cover the tables on which the entries are displayed. This supply has since been added to but the original 130 yards of fabric were bought in 1925.
A century on, the society’s committee has been busy this week organising the daffodil and camellia show, which is on today and tomorrow at the events centre.
Then it is the high tea and centenary celebrations on September 28, closely followed by the rose and iris show.
Asked for suggestions about growing a successful garden in Gisborne, committee member Barbara Searle said she thought the main one was “having a heart for gardening and a love of anything growing”.
Fellow committee member Pat Flockhart said that, in the normal course of events, watering was important for Gisborne gardens because of the summer heat. But more important was planting the right thing in the right place – and persistence.
“People get enthusiastic but they lose interest.”
She is in her garden most days. “People say I’m lucky but I go out every day and do a little bit.”
Poverty Bay Horticultural Society Centennial, High Tea, Bushmere Arms, Saturday, September 28, 2pm. Tickets $30. Contact Wendy Davies 027 7748914 or Katrine Matthews 027 6525149.
